 China sent 18 nuclear aircrafts into Taiwan's defense zone. China has sent a record 18 nuclear capable H-6 bomber aircrafts into Taiwan's air defense zone. The island's defense ministry said as Beijing continues to step up pressure on the self-ruled island. Taiwan lives under the constant threat of invasion by China, which sees the self-rule island as part of its territory to be seized one day. Beijing has ramped up military, diplomatic, and economic pressure since the 2016 election of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who rejects its stance that the island is part of China. Taiwan's defense ministry said 21 aircrafts entered the island's southwest air defense identification zone over the last 24 hours, including 18 nuclear capable H-6 bombers. That represents by far the largest daily sortie by H-6 bombers since Taipei first began releasing daily incursion data in September 2020. The wave came after China slapped fresh import bans on Taiwanese food, beverages, alcohol, and fishery products last week, prompting Premier Tsing-Cheng to accuse Beijing of violating international trade rules and discriminating against the island. The H-6 is China's main long-distance bomber and is able to carry nuclear payloads. It is rare for China to send more than five H-6 bombers in one day, but sorties have increased dramatically in recent weeks. Until recently, October 2021 was the month with the largest number of H-6 flights on record at 16. But last month, China sent 21 of the bombers into Taiwan's ADIZ, and the current tally for December stands at 23. Many nations maintain air defense identification zones, including the United States, Canada, South Korea, Japan, and China. They are not the same as a country's airspace instead. They encompass a much wider area in which any foreign aircraft is expected to announce itself to local aviation authorities. Taiwan's air defense identification zones are much larger than its airspace. It overlaps with parts of China's air defense identification zones and even includes some of the mainland.